Unhealthy Food: 10 Items to Limit in Your Menu

We’re pretty sure you know all of the following items are not good for you. But we all need a reminder every now and again that we should remove or at least eat less unhealthy food. If you’re willing to go on a healthier journey with us, read on.

I know that it can be quite tough to keep to a healthier lifestyle, especially since life always seems to get in the way of that. With deadlines and disturbances in our schedules, kids just being kids or just too much stress, one of the first things to go out the window is healthy eating. But just because you sometimes sin, it doesn’t mean that you can’t course correct. And there is one simple thing you can always do to get your good habits back on track: removing unhealthy food from your diet.

We’ve already talked about those food groups that you should definitely let die on the supermarket shelves. But right now, let’s see which are the particular items to let go off. Of course, they might be already a part of your routine. But routines can change, can’t they?

All of the following have a way of making the rates of heart disease and diabetes rise, so whatever you gain in time or pleasure by eating them, would probably be undone very quickly once you get to the doctor. And they might ruin your skin, too.

10 unhealthy food items you should stop eating

1. Potato chips

Also known as crisps in the UK, potato chips have a lot speaking against them. Like the fact that they’re loaded with salt, bad fats, and calories. It’s no surprise there – they have been deep-fried after all, and are probably dripping with trans fats (the absolute worst!).

Buy them as rarely as possible: chips are loaded with salt, bad fats, and calories.

2. Fat-free dairy

Marketing fooled us all into thinking that less fat in dairy products is better. But that’s not so. In order to make the low-fat or 0 percent fat products more palatable, they are often loaded with sugar or additives. Also, fat in dairy is not as evil as we all had thought until now.

3. Ice cream

I know, I don’t want to believe it either. But unfortunately, ice cream is usually a calorie bomb ready to explode in your arteries. Of course, as hot as this summer has been, I can’t urge you to give up on the frozen treat completely. But maybe have a bit less? Or learn how to make it yourself. And sometimes swap it out for vegan popsicles or frozen yogurt, ok?

4. Margarine

In my house, when I was a kid, we used margarine a lot instead of butter, because butter was supposedly fatter. But oh boy, were we wrong here! Margarine is so much worse. It’s made with hydrogenated vegetable oils and it’s rich in trans fats. It’s also been connected to higher risk of heart disease and cancer.

5. French fries

This one really hurts for me, because it’s one of my comfort foods. I love the saltiness and the crunchiness of a well-made batch. But unfortunately for all of us fry-lovers, French fries are an unhealthy food. On serving has somewhere between 200 to 340 calories and so much sodium! Not to mention that they’re practically doused in unhealthy oils!

Even if you make them at home, French fries are bad for you. Try baking them in the oven.

6. Soda

Do I even have to explain why soda is bad for you? I will, anyway. But we all more or less know by now that soda is mostly just sugar, and sugar is evil. Soda drinks can increase the risk of having cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and osteoporosis. So put that can down and step away from the soda refrigerator in the supermarket.

7. White bread

Even if you don’t have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, you still should lay off the white bread. First of all, it has no nutritional value, because the grain is stripped of all of its nutrients. But it also makes your blood sugar levels spike up, and too much of it can lead to plenty of health issues. So try to switch it out with whole grains as much as possible.

8. Microwave popcorn

Think about opening that bag of popped kernels and what do you first feel or see? That’s right, the oiliness and saltiness. There is way too much bad fat in a bag like that. Plus, there are plenty of toxic chemicals in each and every bag! Instead, maybe try to make some air-popped corn?

9. Processed meat

Deli meats, any type of salami, hot dogs and other processed meats are actually bad news for your health. Yeah, I know they’re tasty, but at what cost? A number of studies have found links between these and colorectal cancer, to name just one. And that’s because they’re full of carcinogens, synthetic chemicals, and toxic preservatives.

10. Energy drinks

What? You were not expecting that a drink which gives you insane amounts of energy is bad for you? Well, these drinks are loaded with glucose, sucrose, and caffeine, which are really really unhealthy.

If you crave for a sweet drink, try a smoothie instead:

Related

Share On

I’m a pop culture nerd who thinks too much about fried bacon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and life, the Universe and everything. I love food and sometimes you can see that on my hips, but I don't care that much about that.
What I do care more about is trying to eat healthier, even though I admit that I like to indulge in my food fantasies. Read my articles.